


Bear Necessities

by coolbyrne



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 12:47:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18620944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolbyrne/pseuds/coolbyrne
Summary: Bears and Marines and flirting, oh my!





	Bear Necessities

**Author's Note:**

> I'm usually all about the angst/serious business, but I was inspired to write this based on some events that happened on a recent trip to Las Vegas. (For the record, my wife won me a plastic winking emoji ring which I will cherish forever.) It's hard to keep Serious!Gibbs in fics like this, but I think Jack gives writers a bit of leeway into how fun they can make it. I hope I succeeded here.

.....

"What do you call that," Torres circled his index finger, like he was trying to reel in the word that was alluding him. "When you don't like clowns."

Jack turned from the big screen. "Coulrophobia."

Nick snapped fingers. "That's it."

This attracted McGee's attention. "I don't understand the context."

Pointing to the screen, Nick said, "Death. Clowns. It's all connected, you watch."

"It's a carnival, not a circus, Nick," Bishop said. "No clowns."

Nick shook his head. "You say that now." Wagging his finger, he warned, "We'll see when Mr. Happy turns out to be the killer."

Ellie was the first to succumb to the temptation. "Mr. Happy?"

"Neighbourhood parents hired a clown for their kid's 6th birthday and invited everyone on the street. Mr. Happy tried to be my friend." His expression told them exactly how it turned out. "The cake was good, though."

"Any chance we can get back to this?" 

Jack ignored Gibbs' gruff command from his desk. "I loved the carnival. It was always bittersweet; we knew when it came into town that summer was almost over and we'd have to go back to school. But we still lined up on those late summer nights to ride the merry-go-round."

Gibbs' pen stopped moving as he thought about what she must have looked like, fresh-faced teenager, blonde hair blowing in the warm summer breeze, laughing with the naivety youth gives, unknowing of the future. He tucked his chin into his chest to hide his partial grin.

"Any clowns?" McGee asked. 

"Besides the guys who forgot to take the change out of their pockets when they went in that ride that went upside-down?" Jack mimed the motion. "Just them, and a misguided boyfriend who spent way too much money trying to win me the giant teddy bear."

Ellie laughed. "You, too, huh? I'm pretty sure Scott Brewster spent his entire summer wages at that shooting game. Only for me to end up with way too many of those feather things that went in your hair."

"That had these little clips that were better used for-" Jack glanced around, "things I shouldn't be mentioning now that I'm a government agent." She smiled broadly.

Tim looked at Nick who filled in the blanks by bringing his thumb and forefinger to his lips and pretending to deeply inhale. Tim nodded his understanding. Gibbs raised an eyebrow.

“Hold up,” Nick said. “Shooting game?”

“Fake guns, Nick." Seeing him make a face, Jack said, "Carnival games? Ring toss? Milk bottles?”

"Sounds like a bunch of farmers finding ways to spice up Saturday nights." Nick grinned and elbowed McGee.

"It _was_ Oklahoma," Ellie shrugged. "Though I'm betting a street smart city guy like you couldn't do much better."

"At hitting a target? I don't mean to brag, but-"

"You're going to," Tim finished. 

Nick continued as if he hadn't been interrupted, "My last marksman test? I aced it. Pretty sure bad guy moving targets are harder than hitting a milk bottle."

"First, you have to knock them off the shelf. Second, I guess we'll never find out, because someone's afraid of clowns."

He lifted his hands. “Hey, don't be mad because you had a boyfriend who couldn't treat his girl right. You, too, Agent Sloane. No offense.”

He didn't always agree with his hotheaded agent, but Gibbs couldn’t help but minutely nod. Still, he made sure to keep his interest hidden. "Is this getting us closer to finding out who killed Petty Officer Andrews?"

Three of the agents looked down, contrite, but Jack snapped her fingers. "In a way, yes." When everyone turned their attention to her, she held out her hands as if it was obvious. "We're talking about boyfriends."

"Lame ones," Nick contributed.

"You spoke to Beth Andrews closest friends. They said they weren't with her that night."

"Who goes to the carnival alone?" Bishop asked, catching on to Jack's train of thought. 

Tim flipped through his notes. "They made no mention of a boyfriend."

Gibbs stood. "McGee, Bishop, see what you can dig up from the closest ATMs. These guys usually like to take cash."

Tim nodded. "Less to claim to the government. On it, Boss."

"Wait," Jack said. "You've been to a carnival, Agent Gibbs?" Her tone was light and teasing.

Rather than answer, he pointed at Torres. "Grab your gear."

Pieces fell into place for the agent. "No, no. Tell me we're not going back to the carnival."

Gibbs was halfway to the elevator when he threw a reply over his shoulder. "I'd never lie to ya, Torres."

"Bring me back something, Nick. I'm all out of feather clips."

Nick shot a look at Bishop. "Very funny."

"Like a clown, Nick," she teased. "Like a clown."

…..

"You know how many people I see in a day?"

The two agents had gone through 10 stalls, hearing some variation of the same line, and like the other 10 times, Gibbs' glower made the worker swallow hard and look again.

"Yeah, okay. I _do_ remember her."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah. Wanted to win the bear."

Remembering Jack and Ellie, Nick said, "How's that different from any other girl?"

The carnival man grinned. "She was the one who spent the money and played the game. Most of the time, you know, it's the boyfriend who wants to win the prize for his girlfriend."

The implication made Gibbs' ears perk up. "Was there a boyfriend?"

"There was a guy, for sure," the worker said. "Don't know the particulars. But it was his money she was spending."

"Don't suppose you remember what this maybe boyfriend looked like?"

He shook his head at Nick's question. "I told ya, I see a thousand faces a day." He glanced at Gibbs with an apologetic attempt to avoid the ire. "Hold on a sec; I do remember something." The agents waited, one less patiently than the other. "She said his name. 'Benny'. I remember because I'm a big Elton John fan."

Before Gibbs could bark for clarity, Torres side whispered, "'Benny and the Jets'. It's an Elton John song." He almost looked mortified at the fact he revealed the trivia out loud. "Don't tell anybody I know that." 

"Can you tell me anything else about this 'Benny'?" Gibbs asked, promising nothing.

A head shake prefaced the answer. "No. Just that she was a better shot than he was, and he accused me of cheating. Said the sights on the guns were off."

Gibbs lifted the prop gun and looked down the barrel. "They are."

"C'mon, man. It's a carnival." His nervous laugh was met by steely blue eyes. With a cough, the man tried to deflect the brewing storm. "Have you gone to the ticket booth yet? We don't have cameras at the stalls, but there's one at the entrance. That's where all the cash is."

Leaving the man with his balls intact was Gibbs' way of saying 'Thanks', but as he turned, Torres stopped him.

"Hold up." Gibbs' eyebrow impatiently prodded Nick to continue. Realizing what he was about to say, his shrugged with a sheepish smile. "I told Bishop I'd bring something back for her." When Gibbs' expression didn’t change, he tried a different tactic. Leaning closer, he whispered, "C'mon, Gibbs. This guy cheats people out of their money every day. You don't wanna stick it to him?" He knew he'd gotten through when he saw Gibbs' resigned sigh and smirk. "Yes! I mean, cool."

Gibbs turned to the worker. "How much?"

He looked around before discreetly holding out a hand. "Ten bucks each. Ten shots, the prize chart's over there. Five hundred points get you the bear." His eyes went to the coveted giant on top of the game.

Nick squinted. "Ten points gets me a prize?"

"Everyone's a winner. If you hit the target."

Eyes narrowing, Nick said, "Hand me that gun."

…..

"I don't believe it." 

Ellie's eyes flicked from her computer to Tim's awed voice to the elevator. She couldn’t see anything but the largest stuffed bear she had ever seen. Said bear was making its way to her.

"Oh my God," she laughed, coming around her desk. "When I told you to bring me something back, I wasn't expecting this."

Torres put down the bear. "Good, because this isn't for you." He thrust out his hand. " _This_ is for you."

"What is it?" Tim called from his seat. 

"It's-" Bishop held it up. 

"A stuffed poop emoji," Tim finished.

"Hey, I had to upgrade my prize 4 times to get that," Torres protested.

"How much did it cost you?"

Nick turned to McGee and muttered.

"Didn’t quite catch that," Tim said.

"Forty bucks, okay? The game was rigged. Even Gibbs said so."

Ellie nodded at the information. "So how much did Gibbs spend?"

He knew what she was getting at and waved away the gentle teasing. "Whatever. At least I got some satisfaction watching the guy's face when Gibbs hit the bull's eye 10 times."

"Where _is_ Gibbs?" Tim asked.

"Went to see if Kasie had anything on our victim. Which, by the way, we got. Ladies were right- Beth Andrews was seen with a guy named Benny."

"Like 'Benny and the Jets'?" Tim asked.

"Like what?" Nick replied, feigning ignorance. 

"We might have a photo to go with the name," Ellie said.

"Nearby ATM puts Andrews near the carnival." Tim added, bringing it up on the big screen. "Looks like a guy over her shoulder."

Torres nodded. "Great. Feel free to start without me." He tried tucking the bear under his arm, with little success.

…..

"Come in," she said to the knock. Raising her head to the door, she pulled off her glasses and laughed. "What in the world?"

"Delivery for Special Agent Jack Sloane." With one good push, the bear burst into the room, with Nick staggering behind it.

She covered her mouth with one hand and directed Nick to the couch with the other.

"She'll help you with that honey addiction, Mr. Bear, I promise."

"Let me guess," she ventured. "Gibbs?"

"Never let a Marine sniper play a shooting game," he said. 

She could only imagine how that played out. "And you?"

Nick waved away the question. "That's not important. What's important is, I'm here to deliver you something someone thought was long overdue."

She remembered his judgment about boyfriends and Gibbs' quiet presence. Smiling, she said, "Thank you, Nick."

He shrugged. "Don't mention it. And when you find out what I got for Ellie, don't mention that, either."

…..

_'That is so not going to fit in my car._ '

He glanced down at his phone and smirked. "Get back to me when you've got somethin', Kasie." Around the corner from the lab, he flipped open his phone and hit speed dial. "Torres pay you a visit?"

Her laughter rolled down the line. "Yes, and he brought a friend."

"Good."

"I have a great image of you two bringing him back to the office."

"Tahoe's windows are tinted." He offered her an extra piece of information. "Torres made sure ‘Mr. Bear’ was buckled in the back seat."

The sly secret and formal address only made her laugh more, and he couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face.

"I'm surprised you didn’t let Nick give it to Ellie."

He blew out a derisive exhale. "Can win his girl his own damn bear."

"Is that what I am?" she asked, her voice playful but low. "Your girl?" When no response was forthcoming, she chuckled. "Is this the longest you've talked on the phone?"

A quick knock prefaced his appearance in the doorway. 

Snapping his phone shut, he said, "Yes." He held the pause just long enough before adding, "It's the longest I've talked on the phone."

"Ha ha," she said, returning the smirk and sharing the unspoken. "In your journey from the lab to here, have you thought about how I'm getting Mr. Bear home, or were you too busy flirting with me?"

Through narrowed eyes, he informed her, "I don't flirt."

"Mmm," she nodded. "Those 4 wives just materialized, huh, Cowboy?" 

The wink she flashed him showed she could give as good as she got. Their relationship had been comfortably lounging in a shade of gray for the last few months, but it was clear Gibbs- in his Gibbsian way- wanted to pilot things back into black and white. The bear on the couch said everything about the direction he was steering things and she was a more than willing passenger. 

She basked in his knowing smirk before saying, "The bear?"

"What about it?"

"As adorable as he is, he can't live here. And you’ve seen my car."

He parsed the unspoken words between them. His eyes went from her to the couch and back again. 

"No," he said. He stayed strong in the wake of her fluttering eyes and small pout. "No," he repeated, more firmly than the first. He looked at the bear as a tactic to avoid her temptations. "No."

She laughed at his curt finality directed towards the inanimate toy. "Fine." The sigh was a dramatic one. "I suppose I could sign out a company car, drive home, drop off Mr. Bear, drive all the way back, pick up my car, then drive all the way home again. In the rush hour traffic, I could reasonably have dinner around 8. That's not so bad."

"Are ya done?"

She looked off to the side as if going down a mental checklist. After several seconds, she nodded. "Yes."

"I'll drop the damn bear off. But you're comin' with me." 

Frowning, she asked, "But doesn't that defeat the purpose? You'd have to drive me back to pick up my car."

"Have dinner at my place." 

"Okay. But at risk of repeating myself, you'd still have to-" 

He patiently watched as the pieces of a brand new puzzle fell into place. With wide, playful eyes, she turned to the couch.

"Oh, Mr. Bear, cover your ears." Lowering her voice, she mock-whispered, "I believe Agent Gibbs has just propositioned me."

"Special Agent Gibbs," he dryly amended.

That he corrected one part but not the other brought a heat to her cheeks but also a laugh to her lips.

"Special Agent Gibbs," she repeated with a sage nod.

"You and the bear. My truck. Seventeen hundred hours."

Her eyes turning seductively soft, she stepped closer, resting her hand against his chest and bringing her lips to his ear. "Only you could make that sound like the sexiest thing in the world." She stepped back and returned to her desk as if she hadn't just set his libido on fire with just a touch and a breath. A smirk and the reading glasses signalled an end to the conversation, leaving the man and the bear in an equal state of silence, one more frustrated than the other.

…..

The guard made eye contact with Gibbs, as he had done every day, for countless days, and he figured he had seen the legendary agent in every manner of mood with every manner of passenger. He made a mental note to correct that assumption. He slowly bent his head to get a better look in the truck cab. His eyes lit on the driver, the middle passenger, and the passenger nearest the window.

"Hey, Tom!" Jack shared her infectious smile. 

"Hey, Agent Sloane." A cough brought his attention back to the driver, but even the steely gaze couldn’t tamp down the guard's grin. "Agent Gibbs. Agent Bear."

"Officer Chapman."

The growl rolled off his back. “Hey Agent Sloane- wondered if you could keep this under wraps from my wife? I’ve been skatin’ by the last 15 years with flowers and chocolate.”

“It’ll be our little secret, Tom,” she promised.

“And I promise no one will ever see the video, Agent Gibbs.” He tilted his head towards the cameras inside the security hut. “Oo-rah.”

The greeting sanded some of Gibbs’ edge. “Oo-rah,” he echoed, pulling away from the checkpoint. Once they were out of the parking lot, he said, “Remind me to give him some advice.”

“About?”

“Flowers and chocolates. Pretty sure the local still has my name on file.” His candour pulled an uproarious laugh from her throat. He grinned at her response. 

After wiping away a small tear, she asked, “So how many women have you wooed with a bear?”

“None,” he answered, eyes firmly on the road. “Never had to work this hard.” He smirked at the indignant gasp.

“You’d better thank Mr. Bear for saving your ass right about now.”

Before she could find a way to make good on her threat, he turned the tables. “How many men have you wooed with Kentucky whiskey?”

He should’ve known better than to think it would put her on the spot. 

“Oh, none,” she openly confessed. “That shit’s expensive. Been holding on to it for just the right man.”

He felt the tips of his ears turn red, just as he suspected she knew they would. If there was one thing he liked the most about her- and there were many things- it was her honesty. In a business filled with deception and liars, her frankness was something to be treasured. He just wasn’t expecting the frank warm glow to be turned in his direction. 

“Cost me ten bucks to win that bear. Beginnin’ to think I underspent,” he said in an attempt to cover his emotional stumble.

“It’s not about the bear and you know it.” Her admonishment was a soft one. “What did Nick win for Ellie?”

His brows came together. “Some kinda stuffed emoji. Whatever the hell that means.”

She chuckled and nodded. “And she’ll feel the same way about it as I do about Mr. Bear.”

“Torres was right,” Gibbs snorted. “You both need better.” When she slowly looked around the girth of the bear, he glanced sideways. “What?”

“Nothing. That was just incredibly sweet.” Seeing his grimace, she vehemently shook her head. “Oh, no. You can’t go out and do something like this,” she poked the toy, “and say something like that and pretend it’s not the sweetest thing in the world.” She leaned towards the bear and whispered conspiratorially, “Careful. Pretty sure I’ve just discovered you’re not the only teddy bear in this vehicle.” 

The truck came to a sudden, immediate halt. But if he thought his flinty retort manifested into vehicular action would make her back down, he was sorely mistaken. Just one more thing he liked about her. Her laughter filled the cab. Still, he tried to regain control of the moment.

“Pretty sure that’s the last time I’ll hear that outta your mouth.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, much to his surprise. “I’m betting I can come up with something better. Something much better.” Her pause was perfectly placed. “Leroy.”

Now it was his turn to slowly look around the obstacle between them. His brain had a hundred retorts in the face of all her sass, but his mouth could only come up with, “I _prefer_ ‘Jethro’.”

She seemed to consider his comment, then replied, “I _prefer_ Triple Chocolate Fudge ice cream over frozen yoghurt, but we can’t always get what we want, can we?”

He could only chuckle at her gall. “I somehow can’t imagine you ever not gettin’ what you want.” His foot came off the brake and the truck was moving again and he pretended like he didn’t see her wide eyed expression, pretended that the thought of her getting what she wanted likely meant getting what he wanted. His fingers tingled at the idea.

If she took notice of the newly charged air between them, she didn’t let on. Instead, she noted, “I _did_ get the bear.”

“Yeah,” he said, turning into her driveway. “Only 30 years late.”

“Mmmm,” she agreed with a hum. “But some things are worth waiting for.” Opening the door, she hopped to the ground and tugged the bear out of the truck before adding, “And like Kentucky whiskey, some things get better with age.”

He turned his head away and grinned, wondering what the hell he was going to do with her, his brain immediately supplying a few options. 

She must’ve seen his smirk because she leaned into the cab and asked, “Am I bringing an overnight bag?”

He wanted to answer with a quip about her investigative skills if she had to ask the question, but he realized it- and she- deserved to be taken seriously. They could flirt and joke until the end of time and it would barely cause a ripple in their lives. But if there was to be anything more, he knew she wanted to be sure, had to know _he_ was sure. 

With a teasing voice that was tempered with warmth and honesty, he said, “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”

The small tension lines around her eyes faded and she smiled. “Great.” She nodded, as if reassuring herself she’d heard right. “Great!” Still nodding, she stepped backwards to her door. “I can’t wait to see how you top this!” She squeezed the bear and entered the house.

He shook his head and laughed. He had one or two ideas.

-end


End file.
